tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-160400502009-06-24T22:18:19.350-07:00A Blog belonging to Calgary Piano & Theory Teacher, Pianist and Writer Rhona-Mae Arca and Musespeak(tm) to muse about music, from teaching piano to playing piano and from writing music to performing. Basically, all things musical.Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.comBlogger215125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-23944536742724378292009-06-24T21:12:00.004-07:002009-06-24T22:18:19.360-07:00

Here is something to lighten one's spirits. It's a bird who likes jiving to Ray Charles. Thanks to my student Molly for sharing this:Enjoy!(c) 2009 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-87735711971989345542009-06-24T20:37:00.008-07:002009-06-24T22:17:34.604-07:00

Thank you to my friend and colleague Sharon Omura for sharing this with me. This is the Welcome Address that Karl Paulnack, Director of Music Division at the Boston Conservatory delivered to students and their parents in 2004.It's a moving speech on why art matters and more specifically, why music matters. There are many quotes I like in his speech. This is just one of them:"If we were a medical

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-50845720619165929612009-06-18T20:31:00.003-07:002009-06-19T10:32:30.386-07:00

Thanks to my Giggle Trio (AKA Tess, Gabriel & Danielle) for sharing these rules of ensemble playing and rehearsing. It's quite the work of art, which I think applies to ALL ensembles:No knee pinching.No story telling until the end of the rehearsal.Try not to giggle so much.Listen to everybody's ideas.Pay attention.Try new stuff.If the group is getting too giggly, tell them to stop.Listen/look for

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-11883575411185591122009-06-17T11:40:00.002-07:002009-06-17T11:45:36.429-07:00

If you're looking for something new to give your students (or if you, a student is looking for something new to play), try these online music games:Star Jam - Drop blocks into the space in front of the moving ball to create a musical guitar riff. Music Catch - Catch musical shapes that fly onto the screen in time to the music. Yellow is good. Purple is good but Red is BAD.Memory Melody Game -

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-81540048125330771862009-06-09T00:31:00.003-07:002009-06-09T00:39:25.663-07:00

Although not quite as violent as the Violin Death Fight posted on The Collaborative Piano Blog, this is still pretty funny. From Beethoven to Super Mario. Who could ask for anything more?(c) 2009 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-57761224991609412232009-05-28T23:57:00.002-07:002009-05-29T00:10:38.152-07:00

It may seem odd that I'm thinking about next year's student incentive program. It all started with me revamping the Lesson Assignment/Practice Diary Sheet to incorporate things that needed either clarification, simplification or simply more room. Might as well tackle it now while it's fresh on my mind.On the other hand, you could accuse me of procrastinating from practicing, however, it's not

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-86779069653484698542009-05-27T23:36:00.007-07:002009-05-27T23:50:41.625-07:00

After fighting with my drum kit over the best arrangement to use with I Got Rhythm, I thought I better take a practice break before I give in to the urge to hit it.Martin Leung, AKA The Video Game Pianist burst onto the youtube stage with this "Blindfolded Pianist" videos. He is currently working on his Masters' Degree in Music and touring around the world with Video Games Live.A pretty sweet gig

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-91944894556105166552009-05-11T10:45:00.002-07:002009-05-11T11:01:14.319-07:00

With music students across the country taking exams next month, I thought it would be appropos to post some exam preparation tips. Some of these are "general exam" tips, but for the most part, they can be applied to music exams. After all, an exam is an exam, whether it is theoretical or practical.Exam Advice for CandidatesTips for Preparing for your Piano ExamHow to Stop Procrastinating and

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-31396914309905494482009-04-01T23:02:00.003-07:002009-04-01T23:10:43.850-07:00

Things are slowly starting to "click" with the jazz pieces I'm working on this term. Playing around with the Spanish scale has been fun but my improvising goes much more smoothly when I just use my ear and my gut. Comping is starting to get better (it helps to play along with a recording or to sing along).I'll be getting lots of inspiration Thursday night when the Oliver Jones Trio performs at

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-10707388560477348442009-03-19T21:38:00.002-07:002009-03-19T21:40:17.031-07:00

Have YOU ever played an Appologiatura?Find out what that is and more at: http://www.oratoriosocietyofny.org/ChorusHumor.htmlEnjoy!

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-77419765030264247452009-03-19T21:29:00.003-07:002009-03-19T21:37:46.395-07:00

Somedays, you just need to have a good laugh in between practices.The St. Francis de la Sissies achieve just that with their rendition of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus:Enjoy!

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-58666917878277375382009-03-12T00:21:00.002-07:002009-03-12T00:42:17.811-07:00

This year, my students are working on duets and trios. For most, it's their first experience in the collaborative arts. Some groups are finding it relatively easy to find the ensemble's pulse. These players have a fairly good internal pulse and have caught on to giving and receiving cues. Or in the case of those who aren't usually steady, they become steady because they are listening to their

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-26598623981582258412009-03-11T23:49:00.002-07:002009-03-12T00:20:36.743-07:00

Practicing has been frustrating as of late. On a theoretical level, I know what I'd like my jazz pieces to sound like. However, I've been stuck in a rut as the old practicing techniques applied in learning a Beethoven sonata does not fully apply. Studying the form helps as does studying the harmonic structure, but that's where the similarities end.How on earth am I supposed to figure out what

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-49411147128145009492009-02-02T00:15:00.010-07:002009-02-04T22:46:49.972-07:00

This past weekend, CTV presented an interesting documentary called "The Musical Brain". Famous musicians Sting, Michael Bublé, Feist, Wyclef Jean and David Kane participated in the documentary.Studies were conducted on babies, the elderly, the non-musician and the professional musician to better understand music's effects on the brain. It was validating to see on a scientific level why we

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-89227466112242506362009-01-16T00:05:00.002-07:002009-01-16T00:26:58.352-07:00

In his book, This is Your Brain on Music, Dr. Daniel Levtin wrote:"… ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert — in anything. In study after study, of composers, basketball players, fiction writers, ice skaters, concert pianists, chess players, master criminals, and what have you, this number comes up again and again.

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-30174396463948367902009-01-07T22:28:00.002-07:002009-01-07T22:35:50.633-07:00

The one thing that music teachers enjoy about Christmas break is that it's a chance to rest our overworked braincells and catch up on sleep. The downside however, is that some students really take "Christmas Break" to a whole new level.These links are for those students and the teachers that are looking for funky ways to refresh their memories:Speed Note ReadingeMusicTheory.com Practice -

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-18322602380113219992008-12-23T13:21:00.004-07:002009-01-16T00:30:44.256-07:00

It's amazing just how many of these quotes you can find:“I often discover that what sounds great at home sounds hideous in public.” Tuck Andress“There are no such things as wrong notes, there’s only the look on your face.” Anonymous“Stay cool, look professional, and pretend this is very, very easy.” Dusan Bogdanovic"I suppose any note, no matter how sour, sounds like a song if you hold onto it

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-3915716654908359942008-12-18T15:13:00.004-07:002008-12-18T15:32:58.630-07:00

This week, I've had some interesting conversations with my students who are so preoccupied by playing "one wrong note". I was trying to communicate that there are no wrong notes in performance - just surprises. Sometimes, they are delightful surprises that lead to an exciting and personalized performance. Others - not so pleasant.Here are a few other quotes from the pros on the subject:There’s no

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-26914399266258964332008-11-27T12:22:00.002-07:002008-11-27T12:33:36.000-07:00

Now for something completely different...Musician and doctor Jake Mandell has developed four online tests that you can try:Do you think you're tone deaf? Take the Tonedeaf TestHow well can you "hear" shapes? Test your Musical-Visual Symbolic IntelligenceAre you rhythm deaf?How good are you at distinguishing subtle pitch differences?They're trickier than going through the old Four Star books.(c)

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-25200638472940531142008-11-26T14:41:00.007-07:002008-11-29T01:22:06.153-07:00

After years of thinking about it, I enrolled in jazz piano lessons this year. I was motivated by my students who are "pumped" about Conservatory Canada's Contemporary Idioms syllabus and the Teacher's Choice Study in the Royal Conservatory of Music syllabus. I was also looking for ways to "jazz" up my gig repertoire.I am currently studying with Derek Stoll, an accomplished jazz pianist and

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-73946126572119641952008-11-26T14:29:00.003-07:002008-11-26T14:41:00.483-07:00

My deepest apologies for not blogging regularly. It's been tougher to juggle all the balls this year - between my ARMTA Calgary President duties and jazz piano lessons (not to mention a full studio), there has been a lot on the go.I have two young brothers who started lessons with me this year. They went through the Yamaha program last year. Excellent ears, not so strong on note reading, but they

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-28452997479243162952008-10-23T11:31:00.005-07:002008-10-23T11:54:07.570-07:00

One of my students reminded me that I haven't given him any new music websites to explore. Here are a few fun music-related sites for musicians young and old to play around with:http://www.iknowthat.com/com/L3?Area=L2_TheArtshttp://kids.yahoo.com/http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/art_and_music_games.htmlhttp://www.bsokids.com/kids/online_games.asphttp://www.surfnetkids.com/games/Art_Music_Games

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-14234829446209557462008-09-18T22:15:00.009-07:002008-09-20T20:44:26.266-07:00

At this year's CASSA Piano Pedagogy Workshop, there was a session on learning style modalities. I was quite excited about this session as it is an area I've been curious about ever since my science fair days in junior high.What I particularly enjoyed was that the presenter, Victoria Chow, B. Mus. Westminster Choir College at Rider University, spoke specifically about teaching tools and strategies

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-36263701265468464832008-09-05T10:31:00.002-07:002008-09-05T10:38:28.423-07:00

This year, I will be "strongly encouraging" my students to look up definitions to music terms in their songs. At the Kiwanis Music Festival this spring, one adjudicator told all the students that it's THEIR job to look up the words they don't know. Not their teacher's job and not their parent's job.The following are some helpful online music dictionaries that you can explore:Music Dictionary

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16040050.post-31506835888601929782008-08-05T10:36:00.005-07:002008-08-06T11:08:39.635-07:00

The unthinkable for musicians happened to me last week - I injured a finger. An attempt to carve some pot roast with Dad's funky new carving knife landed me in Emergency to get stitches on my LH finger 2. My finger is healing well but I had to promise the doctor that I wouldn't type or practice piano on that finger for a week.So long as the bandage is large enough, I remember not to type on it (

Rhona-Mae Arcahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561954550583675696musespea@musespeak.com0